Region I-4A Division II: Return of QB bolsters Canyon Eagles

When the Canyon Eagles lost starting quarterback Blake Weaver with a high ankle sprain prior to District 3-4A play, it didn’t prove to be a major blow.

With sophomore Cade McCallie running the offense, Canyon went 2-2 in district and clinched a playoff berth with one week left in the regular season.

But the Eagles certainly were glad to have Weaver back last week, and now for the first round of the playoffs.

Weaver was unbeaten through his first five games and kept his starting record spotless in last week’s 27-21 overtime win against Palo Duro in the season finale. The junior shook off the rust and threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns, including a 7-yarder to Issac Garland for the winning score in overtime.

“I think what we try to do is play to the strengths of (the quarterback),” Bryant said. “We match those talents to what the other kids can do. Blake being back at quarterback allows Cade to go back on defense and start at cornerback and for us to play Graeson Cook more on offense.”

The chemistry between Weaver and Cook was fairly obvious against Palo Duro. Cook caught eight passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, including a 16-yarder with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Weaver admitted he didn’t feel especially sharp in the first half against Palo Duro, but he hit his stride in the second half. After four weeks on the sidelines, Weaver was itching to get back on the field.

“It was tough just hanging around because you always want to be out there and help the team out,” Weaver said. “You can’t do that standing on the sidelines except to yell for the team.”

In only six games, Weaver has thrown for 1,316 yards and 13 touchdowns, so his value to Canyon’s offense is fairly obvious. Frenship, whose lone loss came to Amarillo High and was a District 3-4A rival of Canyon’s the last two years, is a heavily run-oriented team, as D’Maujeric Tucker has run for 1,868 yards and 25 touchdowns to lead the Tigers.

The challenge is fairly obvious for the Eagles.

“(Frenship) has a tremendous offensive line and a running back as good as we’ve faced all year,” Bryant said. “The key will be how well the defenses play. I’m not anticipating it being an especially high scoring game.”